Internal Struggle
by dragoscilvio
Summary: A mysterious figure cast an ancient spell on Natsu without the Dragon slayers knowledge, resulting in the Fire mage going through the most painful experience of his life. But when the Dragon slayer goes missing, leaving his team mystified as to how and where, can Natsu hold on long enough to be rescued by his friends, or will he be left to the mercy of the darker forces at work?
1. Problems

**Hello Everyone! This is my first fanfiction for Fairy Tail, though I have written other fanfiction for Yu Yu Hakusho, One Piece, DBZ, and Rise of the Guardians.**

**Hope you enjoy, and I hope my writing style does this awesome show justice. **

**Disclaimer; I do not own, nor have I ever owned the show, the characters, or any rights corresponding to the anime or the manga.**

Night had fallen, a cool breeze swept through the forest, and fireflies danced among the trees. On the outskirts of Magnolia, a small cottage occupied by two Fairy Tail mages stood within a glade, while a sign creaked as it swung back and forth on its hinges. All seemed peaceful, but a dark figure darted around the corner, their frame casting a dark shadow in the moonlight.

The figure was clad in a black cloak, but piercing silver eyes glowed under the hood while armor clad hands held an amulet necklace. The chain and amulet itself were gold, but set in the middle was a vial of green liquid that shifted and writhed within its prison.

Wriggling their fingers beneath the frame, the figure opened the window just a crack, wincing when it gave a creak that sounded horrendously loud in the silence of the forest, and quickly uncorked the vial whispering an incantation the caused the liquid to glow and change into a luminescent cloud.

The mist crept under the window and floated over to the figure currently occupying the hammock, salmon pink hair peeking out from under a blanket while soft snores were muffled by a pillow, and eventually the cloud settled on top of the sleeping boy absorbing itself into his body.

The figure smirked maliciously as their victim gave a fretful toss in their hammock, a soft pained whine slipping from their lips as the mist began to rush through his system "Soon," the intruder whispered "all my dreams will be realized, and Fiore…will be mine."

…..

Natsu woke the next morning, his body aching for some reason, and the young man gave a groan as a wave of nausea rolled through his body. He attempted to climb down from his hammock, but his usual grace was impeded by a bolt of pain as he flopped onto the floor, and gripped his stomach. The dragon slayer knelt on the wood planks, gasping for air as a thin sheen of sweat formed on his brow, and he felt the all too familiar acidic bile rising in the back of his throat as he struggled to draw deep even breaths to fight off the impending sickness.

Strangely enough though, as quickly as it came the feeling left, and Natsu sat on the floor mystified by its sudden absence "Whoa," he croaked.

"Natsu," Happy asked, one paw tentatively resting on one of the Dragon slayer's muscular biceps "are you ok?"

The young man stood up on shaking legs, and stumbled his way to the bathroom, only to rest his hands on the sink, sucking in deep breaths of air as he puzzled his way through the odd occurrence.

"What's going on?" he whispered softly to himself.

It was a well known fact that he didn't get sick, and if he did, it was extremely rare. Not even food poisoning really affected him, because after all, he _did_ eat fire so his stomach was pretty tough. The only time he was susceptible to anything similar to an illness was when he was on some form of moving vehicle and was suffering from motion sickness, but this was unprecedented, he had no idea where it came from or how it could have happened. Taking one last quavering breath, the young mage gave a sigh of relief as he felt strength flow back into his limbs, ceasing their trembling, and normalcy was once again the order of the day.

"Natsu?"

The young man turned at the sound of his faithful friend and gave his signature grin, making the exceed's tension melt away "I'm fine Happy, just felt a little off, but everything's ok now."

The blue cat merely looked at his best friend, incredulous worry wrinkling his brow, as he stared silently making the Dragon Slayer fidget nervously "Come on Happy," he whined "I'm fine, really. Now let's go get Lucy and find some breakfast!"

Happy immediately shifted at the mention of food one small paw saluting his partner "Aye, Sir!"

But as the duo ran out the door, neither could deny the gnawing unease in their stomachs that whatever had happened that morning was more than they thought or knew, and the uncertainty of that made them uncharacteristically quiet as they sprinted into the center of Magnolia, the slapping of Natsu's sandals on the cobblestone streets the only sound exchanged between the two.

…

Lucy woke up, brown eyes fluttering open to look out the window as the clouds came into focus, and her arms stretched up above her head as she sighed with contentment.

"LUCY!"

The celestial wizard smiled softly, hearing the familiar sound of her best friend and partner, and sat up to open the window so to lean out and wave "Good morning Natsu!"

"Are you just waking up?" he snorted with a grin.

"Says the guy who is always asleep in my bed," Lucy grumbled with a playful pout accompanied by a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"It's comfy," the boy shrugged his smile completely unrepentant before climbing up to sit on her windowsill "besides you're my best friend, why wouldn't I like coming over to your place?"

Lucy giggled, a grin finding its way onto her face "I guess I can't argue with your logic,"

"Not that you don't always try," Natsu muttered enjoying their banter immensely.

"Ha!" the girl barked out a laugh "Only because your logic doesn't always make sense!"

"Sure it does," Natsu shot back "it's not my fault that nobody can understand-whoa…"

Suddenly the boy rocked back on his heels, and Lucy's face fell in shock as she watched Natsu's eyes suddenly go unfocused and begin to roll back into his head. Almost in slow motion she lunged forward, wrapping him in a tight embrace just as he was about to fall backwards from her window, and tugged him onto her bed cradling his upper body in her arms.

"Natsu!" both celestial mage and the blue cat cried out in fear.

"L-Lucy, Happy?" the Dragon Slayer murmured, slowly shaking his head, only to wince while one hand gripped his hair.

"Are you…alright?" the girl asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, fine," Natsu breathed closing his eyes as he felt the world around him spin "just a little dizzy."

"Natsu," Happy murmured his eyes wide with fear "are you sure?"

Natsu considered his question, before giving them his widest smile "Of course," he said with a tight chuckle "I just haven't had breakfast yet."

"Oh," Lucy replied her face dark as she considered her friend before scooting out from underneath Natsu, placing his head gently on a pillow and standing up "then I'll cook something for us."

The girl walked away after the Dragon Slayer hummed his agreement, and the young man lay there, both hands covering his eyes as he took deep breaths praying softly that the dizzy spell would pass and he would stop making his friends worry. Happy however felt the uncomfortable churning in his gut grow into full blown anxiety and he leaned down to whisper to his lifelong friend.

"Are you sure you're ok?" he repeated, bottom lip trembling softly "You didn't look so good this morning."

"I'm fine Happy," Natsu growled frustration lacing his words "I probably ate dinner too early last night, and I'm just really hungry, so stop worrying."

The blue cat sighed, knowing how much Natsu hated making people worry, and decided to drop the subject. Besides, maybe he was right, the Dragon Slayer had a metabolism that was a beast to keep up with, and if he went too long between meals he suffered from dizziness and headaches, so this wasn't too unusual…right?

Eventually Lucy returned, and she gave a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes to her friend, her brown eyes soft with worry as she watched Natsu struggle to sit up while his head wobbled from side to side in the familiar sign that he was feeling dizzy. Smiling his thanks, Natsu grabbed the plate and tucked into his meal, making the food disappear in record time.

The celestial mage sat next to the Dragon Slayer, and placed a hand on his shoulder "Natsu, are you-"

"Oh for Mavis' Sake!" Natsu spat, throwing his fork down on the plate "I'm fine, I already said I'm fine a hundred times, so I'm fine!"

Lucy flinched, her brown gaze wide "N-Natsu," she stuttered "I didn't…I was just…I…I'm sorry."

The fire mage paused, his jaw dropping as he shook his head "I'm sorry Luce," he said in almost a whisper "I don't…know what came over me."

Natsu was stunned, speechless, he had no idea where that outburst came from. I mean, sure, he was known for picking fights around the guild, especially with a particular ice mage, but he had never lost his temper like that before. His fights were always in good fun, he had never actually snapped at one of his friends with actual malice, and especially never at Lucy. What was wrong with him?

"No, i-it's fine," Lucy said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes "I understand."

Natsu shrunk down, his shoulders slumping over, and he eyes the rest of the food on his plate guiltily as his appetite suddenly fled "I really am sorry Luce,"

The celestial mage leaned over and gave her friend a hug, squeezing him extra tight to show he'd been forgiven "It's fine Natsu, I'm not angry."

Natsu sat in silence for a moment before looking over at his friend "So, you wanna go look at the request board and see if there's anything interesting?"

Lucy gave a wide grin "Definitely!"

**I know, short for a first chapter, though my chapters are usually longer, I'm probably going to keep each chapter about this length so that I don't rush through the story.**

**And for those of you questioning why the affects are happening so quickly, I'm using this rationalization. **

**I have a very similar metabolism to Natsu, to the point I can't go two hours without eating because I almost faint (the price of being skinny), and that also means that I can't take regular amounts of medication, because a full dose of anything affects me twice as bad as it would on a normal person. So I think that because of that, anything given to him would be absorbed into his system that much faster.**

**See ya next time!**


	2. trouble on the train

**AAAAND I'm BACK!**

**So yeah, last time Natsu and Lucy were heading to the Guild hall to see the request board, so let's see what happens!**

Gray sat at the bar, smiling his thanks to Mirajane as she handed him his food, and a large tankard. Juvia, as per usual, was nearby drooling over the ice mage swooning as her over imaginative brain concocted new and increasingly disturbing scenarios.

"Gray!"

The ice mage looked up to see Erza approaching him, a piece of paper in her hand and a smile on her face "Have you seen Natsu and Lucy?"

Gray shook his head "Nope, why, you got a request we can team up for?"

Erza nodded plopping down next to him and sliding the paper over for the young man to see "What do you think?"

"Hmm, looks pretty standard," Gray nodded "a group of bandits needing to be run out of town."

"Yes, but look at the fine print concerning the bandits," the requip mage smiled tapping the section of the job request she was referring to.

"Bandits are known for…" Gray read in monotone before his eyes popped out of his head "shape shifting into giant lizards almost resembling dragons?!"

"That's why we need Natsu and Lucy," Erza said with a decisive nod and slap to the wooden bar top "Natsu wouldn't forgive us if we didn't claim this request."

Gray snickered, knowing that statement to be true "Plus I'm interested in finding out if there are other forms of Dragon magic," the ice mage finished "if it's available to learn, maybe I might find something to power up my ice make skills."

Erza nodded and opened her mouth to reply but stopped when she heard the guild hall door open, spinning around the fairy mage waved Lucy down beckoning her to come over "Lucy, we have a request from the board!"

Lucy let out a laugh, looking over her shoulder to cast an impish grin on Natsu "Hear that Natsu, we already got a job!"

The Dragon slayer gave his friend a large grin, and folded his hands behind his head "Awesome!"

"So, let me see!" Lucy said bouncing excitedly over to Erza's side "What's the job?"

"Taking out a group of bandits that apparently have shape shifting abilities," Gray smirked.

"Aww," Natsu deflated, his cheeks puffing out in disappointment "but we've done hundreds of jobs like that."

"Not like this," Erza spoke leaning in close, her eye gleaming with excitement "these bandits shape shift into dragon like lizard creatures."

"Whoa, wait," Lucy's mouth dropped open "they turn into dragons?!"

"Seriously?!" Natsu chimed in, his face equally shocked.

"Well, dragon _like_ creatures," Erza shrugged "for all we know they could be more lizard than dragon, but it could be a new form of Dragon magic born in the past seven years while we've been gone."

"YEAH!" Natsu screamed lifting his fists up to the ceiling "I'm all FIRED UP!"

The team laughed as they departed, promising to meet at the train station in the next hour, and then left so to pack for the journey.

…

Natsu ambled his way through the streets, his breath coming in short gasps, and one shaking hand rose to wipe sweat off his now clammy brow "Thi-This sucks," he sighed.

"Na-" Happy cut himself off, remembering how the teen had blown up at them this morning for asking the question he was just about to utter.

The Dragon Slayer just huffed out a small groan before giving his best friend a guilty look of apology "Happy, I'm not gonna get mad at you."

The exceed smiled softly before continuing "Are you sure you're ok? This morning you looked really sick, and today you almost fell out of Lucy's window. I'm…worried."

Natsu paused, walking over to a nearby fountain and almost collapsing on the stone side as he sat down and cradled his head in both hands "I don't understand what's going on," he whispered "I don't even understand how it began, all I know is that I woke up feeling horrible, and now I am swinging between feeling fine and feeling worse."

Happy settled down next to his partner and leaned against his leg "What does it feel like?"

The young man paused, sharp teeth biting his bottom lip before answering softly "I have a headache, and my stomach is wringing itself out like I'm riding on a train, plus I keep getting these weird flashes of hot and cold and I'm constantly feeling dizzy."

Happy felt his brow furrow with concern "Are you sure you should go on the job request?"

"I want to," Natsu growled, mostly to himself "besides I can't let my friends down, they're counting on me to be there backing them up."

"But Natsu," the blue cat sighed "what if you can't fight, and get hurt?"

"Aw come on, Happy," the Dragon slayer sniffed "I'm not so wimpy that I can't handle feeling a little sick in a fight, I'll be fine!"

However the little blue cat was unsatisfied with his friend's answer and shook the salmon haired young man's arm gently "I'm not saying you're weak, but you've been acting weird all day, getting sick, and getting mad at Lucy, I'm worried about you!"

Natsu opened his mouth to reply, but found that he couldn't.

In truth he had no explanation for what had happened. It was odd, but he had this strange surge of frustration at how everyone would not believe what he was telling them, and to make it worse he was angry with himself for looking so weak. When Lucy was asking him if he was ok, Natsu couldn't explain why, but an irrational fury burned through his veins making him snap at Lucy, and scaring Happy. Not to mention scaring himself.

He didn't know where it had come from, and he had never experienced that level of anger to come into his heart and force its way through his mouth. It was, at the very least, an immense shock to the Dragon slayer because he had never showed such animosity to the people he called friends, even when he picked fights with Gray.

"Are you _sure_ that you want to try to handle a job request?" the cat repeated.

Finally Natsu just sighed and pasted the most believable smile on his face that he could manage "I promise Happy, I'll be careful, besides I got you and everyone else at my back, I'm pretty sure I'm covered."

Happy gave an unhappy growl, then finally nodded "Fine, but we're not done talking about this."

Natsu laughed out loud then shook his head.

Few people saw this side of Happy. He was a goofball, but much like the Dragon slayer, the blue cat had a serious side which was usually directed at Natsu for not taking better care of himself. The young man had no qualms about this however, and he appreciated the care that Happy took in ensuring he was well, but sometimes even he had to admit that the cat was somewhat of a mother hen when it came to the wellbeing of his friends.

"Come on Happy," Natsu grinned as he stood up with a barely suppressed groan "we've got a train to catch, and bandits to beat up!"

"Aye, Sir!"

…..

Erza and Gray looked over at Natsu uncomfortably, unease in every facet of their gaze.

As per usual, the young man was incapacitated on the train, the agony of motion sickness painted across his features, but today there was something different. There was a hitch in the Dragon slayer's breath and a deep furrow in his brow where you could see evidence of his intense concentration on not passing out, plus his fists were clenching and unclenching as each wave of pain rolled through the fire mage.

His frame trembled, and a ragged cough rocked his shoulders every few minutes, while a sheen of sweat from what they only could assume was a nasty fever glistened on his skin.

"Oi, Natsu," Gray murmured "you ok man?"

Natsu raised a suspicious eyebrow, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath "It's just the usual," he growled before a hacking cough stole his oxygen "yo-you've never ca-cared before when I wa-was motion sick."

"Yeah, but this doesn't look like your usual motion sickness," Gray snapped.

The Dragon slayer attempted a snarky grin, though it was ruined by the sharp wince of agony that flashed across his features "Wha-What Ice ret-tard," he croaked in between gasps "yo-you worried a-about me?"

"Yeah," Gray snorted incredulously "I'm worried about the fact that I'll have to cover for your butt more than usual."

"Heh," Natsu laughed softly "Or m-maybe you're j-just going soft-AUUGH!"

Suddenly the salmon haired young man doubled over, clutching his stomach as his sharp teeth clenched in a tight grimace, and a pained whine slipped between his lips that were drawn back in a macabre snarl.

"NATSU!" the group yelled as one drawing around the young Dragon slayer, Gray directly in front.

"Come on, man," the ice mage cried his eyes narrow and urgent "breathe, deep even breaths, you can do it!"

Erza pursed her lips in careful thought before tugging off a glove and placing her hand on Natsu's forehead only to jerk back with a hiss "He's burning with fever."

Gray opened his, but his eyes brightened as he was struck by an idea, covering his hands with a thin layer of ice, he pressed the flats of his palms across the Dragon slayer's forehead and neck, making the teen tremble from the drastic change in temperature. However any relief they might have had was forestalled when Natsu jerked forward and begin to give painful hacks that resonated in his chest and caused his body to convulse from their sheer force.

Lucy and Erza looked on, their faces as serious as they were filled with concern "Natsu," Lucy murmured, her mind flashing back to that morning.

Natsu continued to cough, the hacking becoming increasingly wet and ragged, until thin lines of blood began to fleck his lips and chin, while others dotted the floor of the train.

"Oh my God," Gray murmured his eyes widening with shock before suddenly shoving his friend up into a sitting position and angling his face towards the open window.

"Wha-What are you doing?!" Lucy asked in a frightened rush, brown eyes large.

"I'm trying to make sure his airways are open," Gray bit back "if blood is coming up there's a good chance that a clot could block it entirely and he could go into cardiac arrest."

The entire team looked at Gray in frozen shock, making the Ice mage to seethe with fury "Look, I'm not an idiot ok?!"

"L-Le-Lea…"

The weak gasp brought all the attention back to the suffering Dragon slayer, his head swung exhaustedly around to look at his team, his breath coming in erratic labored gasps "What's wrong Natsu?" Erza asked gently one armored hand resting on his shoulder.

Onyx eyes rested on his team before something happened that caused them all to gasp in horror, the normally dark eyes brightened to a burning yellow and the pupils flattened and lengthened into feral reptilian slits, and his voice was no longer Natsu's but a deep rumbling snarl full of malice.

"_**Leave me alone**_**!**"

**So what do you think? Let me know!**

**Review!**


	3. Stress and fights

**So we're back. Last time Natsu was undergoing a very painful train ride, so let's see what happens next.**

**Disclaimer: I own nada…the end.**

"_**Leave me ALONE!"**_

Gray jerked back looking much like he had been slapped "What did you say?"

"_**I said, leave me alone,"**_ Natsu snarled, his reptilian gaze pulsing as his teeth began to grow and sharpen to serpentine points _**"hands off me…pathetic human!"**_

The ice mage's eyes narrowed with cold fury, and before he even finished processing his rival's words, he had already swung his fist into Natsu's jaw, slamming the dragon slayer back into his seat. The salmon haired head hit the wooden back rest of the seat with a resounding bang, and his eyes fluttered closed as his breathing returned to normal, and the young man slumped with fatigue as darkness overtook his senses and dumped him into the folds of sleep.

"GRAY?!" Lucy shrieked angrily slapping the ice mage upside the head "What did you do that for?!"

"Aw come on," the dark haired young man spluttered "he was being a jerk…and creepy on top of that!"

Erza glared fire at the young ice mage before giving him a healthy slap as well "at any rate, I have to agree that Natsu's behavior has shocked me as well, we should probably keep an eye on him for the rest of the job until we get him back to Magnolia."

Lucy suddenly felt a burst of unease as she watched the Dragon slayer's sleeping face, taking note of every twitch, every wince, every groan "Are you sure…" she murmured softly one shaking hand covering her mouth "are you sure we should finish the job with him?"

Erza paused, she and Gray exchanging looks of hesitant discomfort as they considered Lucy's request "I think we'll be fine," Erza replied slowly "it might just be his usual motion sickness combined with not eating much breakfast, besides, he looked fine this morning."

Lucy opened her mouth to tell them about his dizzy spell and strange angry outburst from earlier that day, but cut herself off from saying anything _'Maybe they're right,'_ she thought to herself as she took her seat _'maybe it's just him not eating plus his motion sickness?'_

But as Lucy sat down next to Natsu, she couldn't help but feel unease over the young man's welfare begin twisting her stomach into knots, so she gently pull his head into her lap, her slim fingers playing with the curls at the base of his neck as she hummed a lullaby that she hoped was soothing.

…

"Milady, the Dragon Slayer is drawing near to the town."

"Good,"

A young woman clad in a dark cloak with purple feathers around the collar stood on a cliff edge, her only company that of a man who also wore a black hooded cloak.

The woman had white hair and lavender eyes, while a purple choke collar adorned her neck and a miniature black top hat adorned her head atop the elaborately styled hair "It seems everything is going exactly as planned," she purred.

The man, dark tanned skin topped by red hair, gave a frown "Indeed," he growled softly "but I worry, how are we going to go about taking the Dragon slayer prisoner?"

The woman smirked before giving the man a condescending pat on the cheek with a purple gloved hand "Let me worry about the things that require the use of a brain," she sneered turning her gaze back to the train tracks that their quarry would soon be puffing down "I will direct you as needed, for now all you should to focus on is the next stage of our plan."

The man sighed, his face twitching with irritation at the woman's blatant arrogance "Yes, milady,"

"Very good," she smiled looking much like a cat that's cornered its prey "now, let's prepare for the next act, we need to make sure that it's convincing enough to ensure our target is isolated away from his team and fit for capture."

"Everything has been prepared according to your specifications," The man muttered already wishing the conversation over.

"Excellent," the woman nodded before curling her lip in disgust "see to it that nothing goes wrong, our master wouldn't be pleased if we failed at so crucial a point in the game."

Turning around the man gave a sneer of his own "No," he snarled "no he wouldn't,"

…..

Natsu's eyes slowly fluttered open, and an onyx gaze slowly came back into focus as he glanced around at his surroundings "Luce?" he said in a half whisper half croak.

"Natsu!" Lucy said as she settled next to the young man's side.

"Wha-What happened?" he murmured, his eyes still slightly unfocused.

"You mean, you don't remember?" the celestial mage's brown eyes softened with worry.

"I remember being on the train, and starting to cough," Natsu replied in a hoarse whisper "but after that, not a thing."

"Well," Lucy scrambled for words to explain what had happened "you were coughing pretty hard, and you started coughing up…blood,"

"I, what?" Natsu opened wide eyes to look at his best friend.

"You were coughing up blood," Lucy repeated in a small voice.

"I…don't remember that," the Dragon slayer said softly.

"Nothing," the celestial mage prodded "at all? Not even us bringing you to the hotel?"

Natsu sat up with a jerk, one hand flying to his stomach when it gave a lurch as his head began to swim from the sudden movement, only to see that he was indeed lying on a bed in a hotel room with Happy and Lucy sitting on the foot of the bed looking at him with worried expectant eyes. The Dragon slayer took a deep breath, willing his stomach to calm before giving what he hoped was a comforting smile to his two best friends.

"Don't worry Luce, I'm fine,"

Lucy exchanged a frown with Happy before turning back to the suffering teen "Natsu, there's something we need to talk about. On the train you were-"

"Natsu!"

The female voice caused the duo looked up to see Erza and Gray walking into the room, both wearing smiles of relief though both still thinly lined with veils of concern "How are you feeling?" Erza asked seriously.

"What, you worried about me?" Natsu joked with a wicked grin.

Gray frowned, his gaze flickered with an untold emotion, and he looked at Erza before cutting in "Maybe, especially after your little performance on the train."

Natsu gave a derisive snort "Why is coughing such a bad thing?"

"I'm not talking about you coughing," the Ice mage sneered.

Lucy jumped up clutching Gray's sleeve and whispered urgently "He doesn't remember anything from the train,"

"He doesn't?" Erza asked in a surprised tone.

"Yeah right, he doesn't," gray snarled "he went all creepy dragon eyed on us, and called me a pathetic human!"

Natsu jerked back, looking much like Gray had slugged him in the gut "I…said that?"

"Yeah, you did!" the ice mage hissed as he stomped up to Natsu and planted a finger on the fire mage's chest "Look, I know we're rivals and all that, but just because you're a Dragon Slayer and have _ancient_ forgotten magic, it _doesn't_ mean that you're better than me, you got it?!"

Natsu's jaw was still hanging his onyx gaze wide with hurt and disbelief "I-I'm..I'm sorry Gray…" he stammered "I don't remember much about the train, but I wouldn't say that, I promise."

Gray huffed out a frustrated breath before straightening up and rolling his eyes with a pout "Fine, whatever,"

The Dragon slayer's eyes never lost the haunted look of guilt before he stood and walked out of the hotel room to the balcony, and Lucy cast a look of indignant fury to the Ice mage "Thanks a lot, Gray," she huffed.

"Hey, what'd I do?" the darker haired boy sniffed.

"You hurt Natsu's feelings!" the blonde shot back.

"Well, it's not like I'm the one who's acting all weird," Gray muttered before giving Lucy his own look of disdain and raising his voice "besides, last time I checked, Natsu doesn't really have feelings. He's a brainless goofball who only cares about his next meal."

"How dare you," Lucy gaped her jaw dropping in shock "he cares about his friends, the people who he views as family, and you have seen him more times than we can count put his life on the line for us, we should be trying to help him right now, not making him feel worse! Besides, you're not acting like yourself either, because you of all people know that Natsu's emotions run deep, and you have no right to make such a cruel accusation that he doesn't have feelings."

"Don't be condescending to me, you little-!"

"GRAY!"

The two stopped their fighting long enough to see the armored mage giving them a fierce glare before they both sat down, agreeing to a silent truce.

"Lucy is right," Erza eventually said "Natsu isn't acting like himself, and that is putting all of us on edge. Why else would we be fighting like we are? Bickering is one thing, but this? This isn't normal for any of us, and it all stems from our worry over Natsu."

Gray opened his mouth to shout again but immediately deflated "Yeah, I guess you're right," he murmured "Natsu isn't the type to get hurt or feel pain and today on the train was weird…on several different levels."

Erza nodded "I too am uncomfortable with the strange change that overtook Natsu, the look in his eyes wasn't him, it was…evil."

"Natsu wouldn't say those things," Lucy quavered feeling tears prick her eyes at the memory of the malicious voice and serpentine eyes "Natsu wouldn't be cruel to his friends or act superior to humans, that's not who he is."

"I agree," Erza nodded "for now, let's finish the job and watch out for Natsu in case anything strange happens again."

The trio nodded and eventually separated ways, with Lucy walking out to the balcony, unsurprised to find Natsu sitting on the stone railing "Natsu?"

The Dragon slayer gave a startled jump, whirling around to see the celestial mage before relaxing "Hey Luce,"

The blonde girl paused, biting her bottom lip in indecision "I was just wondering…if…you were, you know…"

Natsu smiled softly, appreciating how she was trying not to annoy him by asking the all too familiar question "Yeah, Luce, I'm fi-"

"Don't say it!" Lucy suddenly cut in before blushing several shades of red and stammering "I-I mean, I just…I'm kind of tired hearing you say that you're fine, when you're…not."

The Dragon slayer huffed out a laugh, realizing that she was just as frustrated as him over certain words being repeated "Sorry Luce," he finally spoke in a hoarse whisper "I think, I'm just…scared."

Lucy nodded, sitting down on the railing next to Natsu and leaning against him, her head on his shoulder "I don't blame you," she replied softly.

"To be honest," Natsu continued in the same tone "ever since I woke up this morning, I've been feeling horrible, and these weird things keep happening…I…Lucy, what's happening to me?"

The celestial mage felt her heart give a crack at his pleading tone, and wrapped her arms around his neck "I don't know Natsu," she said in a choked sob "but whatever is happening, we'll be here to help, I promise."

A muscular hand came up to grip one of Lucy's arms, and a smile graced the Dragon slayer's face.

"Thanks Luce,"

**Yup, I'm a softie for fluff… Deal with it!**

**Review!**


	4. And it begins

**So we left Lucy and Natsu having a fluffy moment.**

**Let's get back to the story!**

"They have been terrorizing our village for weeks, and we are at the end of our rope on how to deal with them!"

Erza sighed, her mind beginning to wander to her throbbing feet, and now stiff joints all due to standing in one place for far too long while listening to the inane ramblings of yet another mayor as they screech on and on about their newest trouble.

"Yes sir," the armored mage finally said quickly pasting on a tight impatient smile "we understand your situation is quite dire, allow us to be on our way and we'll settle it for you."

The mayor paused in his endless rhetoric, blinking twice, before settling back into his chair with a smile "But of course my dear, whatever you wish, we will gladly leave you to your work."

"Thank you sir," Erza replied with a respectful bow before straightening and swiftly walking out the door.

"So, how'd it go?" Gray asked from where he was leaning against the wall out in the hallway.

"We're finally done with the formalities, that's how," Erza smiled, just a hint of bloodlust in her features "now let's go and find those bandits, I have some tension I need to vent on their sorry carcasses."

"Sounds like a plan to me,"

…

"Uh huh, right, meet you there then."

Lucy placed the phone back on its cradle before turning a beaming smile to Natsu "We're good to go, Erza told us to meet her on the edge of town near the large clock tower."

"Great," the Dragon slayer grinned before heaving himself off the bed, and patting his legs down.

Lucy's features adopted a contemplative gaze, her lips pouting slightly as she considered her friend's current condition "Natsu," she said softly.

"Yeah?" the salmon haired boy was busy stretching, prepping himself for battle.

"Are you sure you're up to fighting?"

Natsu paused in his stretching, his smile disappearing only to be replaced by a serious frown "Luce," he replied quietly "I'm not going to sit this out just because I felt a little off this morning, besides, I haven't felt dizzy or uncomfortable for the past two hours, I'll be fine."

The celestial mage opened her mouth to challenge his claim, but swiftly closed it again, her shoulders deflating as she remembered that it was impossible to argue with the young man once he had put his mind to something "Ok, Natsu, whatever you say."

"Come on Luce, I'm getting all fired up!"

…

The duo ran outside of the town, Lucy giving a bright wave to her friends when Gray and Erza came into view. Natsu merely grinned at them, trying in some small way to dispel the horrible tension that had afflicted his team since the train ride into town.

"All ready to go?" Lucy asked eagerly.

"Indeed," Erza returned with an excited grin "the bandits we're looking for should be on the other side of this ridge."

"Awesome!" Natsu cheered.

Gray merely looked at his friend and rival, a look of hesitant worry underlying his usual cold gaze, however any comments he may have made concerning Natsu's health were forestalled merely because they had been over it with the Dragon slayer tens of times in just the past few hours and the teen still insisted that he was well enough to fight, and if there was one thing Gray knew it was that Natsu was nothing if not stubborn when it came to proving his strength.

And so without another word, the group set off towards the abandoned section of town where only ruins lay in silent repose.

"It's creepy here," Lucy muttered with a shiver as a breeze whistled through the crumbling buildings "let's just find them and get this over with."

"No need to look," Gray smirked "they found us."

Suddenly a large swarm of humanoid creatures with long reptilian tails, scaled skin, and serpentine eyes gathered on the roofs of the ghost town, each looking on their foes with an apathetic gaze. Golden flames licked along their spindly frames, and forked tongues flicked in and out, tasting the air while the tails lashed the air back and forth.

Natsu gave a frustrated huff as he folded muscular arms and pouted "The closest they come to dragons is the flames, and they aren't even eating it…weirdo's."

Lucy rolled her eyes giving her partner a fond smile "It isn't always about food Natsu," she sighed.

"It is when it comes to Dragon slayers," Gray muttered with a wry smirk.

"HEY!" Natsu retorted with an indignant squawk "I care about a lot of stuff more than food!"

"HA!" Gray barked "Prove it!"

Natsu pouted at his rival before giving his head a healthy shake "But it's not just that," he growled "there's something weird about them…they don't smell right."

"Well, there's something weird about you too," Gray muttered with a snarky grin "and you don't smell like a flower yourself,"

"Like you're rosy?" The Dragon slayer sneered "Because trust me when I say that your scent isn't one I enjoy."

Gray bared his teeth in a snarl "Why don't we just settle this with a healthy spar?"

Natsu sent his friend and rival a sneer dripping with disdain before slamming a fist into his open palm "Sounds like a plan," he grinned maliciously turning back to the bandits "after we beat up these jerks."

The ice mage merely returned the smile before popping his neck and rolling his shoulders "Well then, let's get this over with so I can have another excuse to beat you to a bloody pulp."

"Please," Natsu snorted as he ignited his fists into twin balls of flame "like you've ever been able to beat me."

"Oh, for heaven's sake," Lucy groaned unraveling her whip and giving it a flick "when will you two ever stop fighting?"

"Heh," Erza laughed "let them be Lucy, their rage will aid them in the battle ahead."

"Like they need it," the celestial mage sweat dropped "they're both monsters, and you're no exception…"

"GET 'EM!" Erza screamed as she surged forward followed by the boys leaving Lucy in their dust.

"HEY!" the blonde shrieked indignantly as she chased after them "don't just leave me here!"

Gray jumped between two lizard things, his legs flying as he jumped backwards doing a split kick while simultaneously turning the ground to ice with his fingertips, sending the lizards slipping and sliding to the floor.

Landing lightly on his toes, the ice mage smirked as he brought a fist up to his face before slamming his fist into an open palm and yelling "Ice make, arrow barrage!"

Arrows literally grew from the frozen ground like crystal flowers before shooting themselves at the humanoid reptilian creatures, bringing down over a dozen, but Gray frowned when the bodies suddenly disappeared, leaving nothing but scorch marks in the form of the circular magic inscriptions. The Ice mage growled in frustration, turning to address his team.

"I hate to say it," he yelled "but I think Natsu's right, there's something weird about these guys!"

"I told you!" Natsu snarled as he took a deep breath and sucked in some of the fire burning around their enemies and swallowing it whole before blanching "Their fire tastes gross, like it's not even alive, YUCK!"

"What are these guys?!" Lucy screamed as her whip slashed through three at once "they aren't that hard to fight, but there's too many of them!"

Erza's sword flashed in the late afternoon sun, slicing another twenty to ribbons "I think they're golems, living dolls, which means that this is a distraction!"

"Very good, Titania!"

The whole team whirled around to face the mysterious new voice, only to see a man in a black cloak appear at the top of a crumbling building "Who are you?" Erza barked.

"My name is Declan," the man replied throwing back his hood to reveal red hair and tanned skin "I'm a special kind of fire mage that can control fire by shaping it into living dolls."

"You don't control fire," Natsu spat "you change it, and makes it lose its most important quality, it's life! All you have is a watered down version of fire!"

Declan merely smiled and nodded his head "True, I strip fire of all its will and tame it to the point of almost being weak, however it's more than enough to fulfill my goals at the present."

"Which are?" Gray sighed, boredom evident in his tone.

The black cloaked mage merely grinned and put a finger to his lips "It's…a…sec-ret!" he said in a sing song voice.

"That jerk," Natsu growled, lowering his stance and fists bursting into flame.

"At least it is right now," Declan continued with a careless shrug before turning around and yelling over his shoulder "but if you want to find out my secret you'll have to catch me!"

Without another word the man sped off into the woods, leaving the team behind, but Natsu felt inherent rage boil in his heart at the misuse of the fire in the man's hands "Get back here!"

"NATSU!" Lucy cried watching the Dragon slayer race after the new enemy, but neither she nor the others were able to follow him because a veritable flood of lizard golems surrounded them "What, more?!"

"Just beat 'em, and move on," Gray shouted "I don't feel comfortable letting Natsu chase after that guy on his own!"

The team nodded in agreement, and as one attempted to power through the creatures, but to no avail, because for every one that was defeated, two sprang up in its place. The team fought for what felt like ages, seeing no end to the fiery golems, as they fought to rejoin their comrade. Eventually the blue cat had had enough, and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"We have to get to Natsu!"

"Agreed!" Erza nodded giving a staunch battle cry and cutting down over fifty golems, but let out a frustrated growl when they were replaced by double the amount.

"How are we going to defeat these things?!" Gray asked in an exasperated shout.

"A joint attack," Lucy panted, "destroy them all at once and run once the way is clear!"

"GOT IT!" Erza and Gray shouted unanimously.

"Gate of the Lion, I open thee!"

"Ice make, cannon!"

"Heavenly Wheel!"

Suddenly an explosion of massive proportions shook the abandoned town, blinding the mages, and rocking the hillside. Clumps of dirt, and bits of debris rained from the sky, and Lucy cracked open one eye only to release a cry of victory while one hand pumped the air.

"We did it!"

Erza smiled and gave a happy nod to her friend before turning back to Lucy "Now, let's go find Natsu!"

But just as those words were spoken, a shrill scream sounded from the woods, making a flock of birds fly into the sky in panic. Lucy stilled, her heart skipping a beat, and her brown eyes widening with fear as she realized a chilling fact, she recognized that scream.

"Natsu…?" she gasped.

Erza, her eyes equally full of fear turned to her teammates, urgency evident in her barking command "GO!"

"Right!"

The mages shot off into the forest, each worrying about the state they would find their Dragon slayer in, and just what plans a man who could control fire had that concerned their team. And as Lucy ran, she felt her heart thunder in her ears as she began to get a terrible sinking feeling that this was only the beginning.

**Oooh!**

**Ok, so I'm REALLY trying hard not to rush this story, but if I am, let me know.**

**At any rate, please review, and recommend this story to friends. Would love to read more ideas and reviews from others.**

**I appreciate the faithful reviewers who are already commenting, I love you guys! If you have any suggestions, please feel free to post them.**

**See ya!**


	5. The first move made

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"Get back here you jerk!"

Natsu barreled through the forest, narrowly avoiding the trees as he chased Declan in a dogged single minded pursuit, while the man ran just ahead always out of reach, his black cloak flying behind him in way that was almost mocking to the Dragon Slayer.

The salmon haired youth grit his teeth, giving a growl of frustration as he put on an extra burst of speed, and jumped off a large rock using it as a springboard in order to launch himself from tree to tree as an extra effort to catch the man. Declan merely looked over his shoulder to give Natsu a grin full of satisfied smugness, before he also sped up, eliciting another enraged snarl from the Fire mage.

"Stop running, and fight me!" Natsu shrieked as he leapt high in the air and drew a deep breath "Fire Dragon's ROAR!"

Fire shot out in a powerful blast towards the fleeing man, but Declan turned around skidding while he clapped his hands to create a red shield that absorbed the flames "Sorry, but I don't think that will work for you on me." He smirked as he returned to running.

Natsu's eyes went wide at the fact that the man had made it out without even a singed hair before they narrowed with fury and he dove forward, once again intent on catching the mysterious man "If you don't stop messing with me…!"

"You'll what?" Declan cackled as he dodged a fireball from Natsu "Hit me with another roar? I think we saw how well that turned out!"

"Why you-AUUGH!"

Suddenly the Dragon slayer fell to the ground, giving a pained grunt as he hit the dirt, his arms automatically wrapping themselves around his stomach as he curled into the fetal position and a tortured grimace contorted his features.

Declan stopped in his running, and turned around so to approach the young mage, his own face sporting a large grin of triumph "Right on time," he rumbled.

"Wha-What do you mea-AUUGH!"

Another piercing screamed ripped itself from Natsu's throat as his body stretched out and his back arched as his fingers clawed at the ground pulling up grass and slicing at the dirt. Eventually he collapsed back into the grass, his breathing labored and a ragged hitch at the end of each inhale. Sweat beaded across his forehead as an intense flash of heat that was difficult even for Natsu to endure caused him to whimper in pain, and his body rippled as agony rolled through his frame, causing him to tense.

"What's ha-happening to m-me?" Natsu panted, his eyesight going in and out of focus.

"Oh nothing much," Declan practically purred from his spot where he was standing "just a very special metamorphosis."

"Me-Meta-what?" Natsu asked before giving a sharp gasp.

Declan rolled his eyes before schooling his features with a sickly sweet smile "Metamorphosis, my dear Dragon slayer, metamorphosis. The particulars of what that means we will discuss later, for now though, I will be taking you into my custody but before I can do that I'll have to take some precautions to ensure your cooperation."

Natsu's eyes went wide as the man knelt next to him and reached out to rest his hand on the Dragon slayer's heart "Wha-What are y-you doing?…Stop…n-n-no…!"

But the youth was helpless to resist due to the pain afflicting his frame, and as Declan laid his hand flat against Natsu's chest the teen felt new agony flood his veins.

Ice rushed through his body, freezing his fire and extinguishing his flames. The dragon slayer writhed and bucked, his body convulsing as magic flowed from Declan and absorbed itself into his body "St-STOP!" Natsu cried.

Suddenly a flash of light propelled the man away from the Dragon slayer, sending him flying across the field, Natsu looked down to see his scarf glowing brightly and a relieved smile tinged with pain stretched his mouth "…Thank you…" he panted "…Igneel…"

Flipping himself onto his stomach, the salmon haired youth attempted his escape, dragging himself across the ground in painstaking slowness, his breath becoming ever more labored and ragged as his fingers dug into the ground and trembling arms tried to force his frame to move his body to a place of safety. But another bolt of pain caused him to stop, as another agonized cry forced its way past his lips, and the Dragon slayer felt his strength leaving him like waters gushing from a broken dam.

"Not so fast, runt!" Declan snarled as he stomped over to where Natsu lay and ripped the scarf off of the teen and throwing it far from them.

With one booted foot, the man pushed Natsu onto his back, and once again resumed where he had left off, his hand placed over the youth's heart and his magic flowing into Natsu. The Dragon slayer began to scream, his legs kicking and his fists flying in feeble attempts at punches, but the cold that he had felt before was now suddenly stronger, clouding his brain with a misty fog, and weighing his limbs down making them feel numb and heavy, as if he had spent several hours sitting in the snow.

Declan grinned evilly, pressing his hand harder against the mage's chest, pouring all of his power into the youth "That's it," he snarled "become mine, your magic and your fiery soul, fall under my control."

"No…NO…!" Natsu squirmed, thrashing his head from side to side, but the cold seeped into his very bones making his heart begin to slow and sputter "…Stop…this…"

Seconds ticked by, with Natsu gasping on the ground next to Declan, fighting for every breath until suddenly he felt a snap as his will to live and survive was broken and the ice froze his very soul. A shrill scream of tortured agony split Natsu's mouth wide, and tears filled his eyes as the onyx orbs grew dull, until finally the Dragon slayer lay quiet, the only movement being the feeble trembling in his limbs.

Stepping back Declan searched the area, smirking when he saw no sign of his partner, and drew out a purple rope throwing it towards the fallen teen "_**Bind**_!"

The rope writhed to life, slithering over to its intended victim, until it had wrapped around him binding his arms behind his back and rendering his legs useless. As Natsu slowly fell under the folds of sleep, his heart gave a squeeze for his friends who he knew was looking for him, until finally the Dragon slayer could no longer fight against the darkness creeping into his vision and the last thing he saw was the grin of his captor as he stood over him.

…

Lucy stopped, her heart freezing in her chest at the sound that reached her ears, and her entire body began to tremble "N-Natsu?"

"Don't stop running!" Erza cried as she ran past the celestial mage.

"Right!" Lucy stammered once again picking up her pace.

"Do you really think that could have been Natsu?" Gray asked, his eyes dark with fear.

"I know it was," Lucy nodded, teeth capturing her bottom lip as she struggled not to cry.

"But how?"

Erza and Lucy exchanged looks of sorrowful concern "I don't know," the armored mage finally replied "but for now we need to be focusing on finding him."

"Even though I want to find Natsu," Gray muttered as he ran "I'm not too keen on meeting whatever it is that's able to make him scream like that."

Lucy and Erza fell silent, each nodding in agreement with the Ice mage, but their progress was stopped when another stepped out from the trees, a woman with silver hair, and a black cloak lined with purple feathers.

"Hello all," she drawled.

"Who are you?" Gray yelled, unhappy that they were being waylaid.

"No one you need to be concerned with," the woman shrugged.

Erza let loose a snarl and pointed her sword at the woman "If you hold any measure of wisdom you would do well to move aside and let us pass."

The woman put on a show of pondering their request, one slender finger resting on her lips before she flashed them an impish grin "Nah, I don't think so,"

Gray sneered at her "Trust me lady, you don't want to be in between Fairy Tail mage's and their nakama, because if you're not helping us then you're liable to get hurt."

"Ooh, I'm shaking!" The woman pouted before laughing "Sorry, but if I were to let you go, then the idiot that is my partner might not be able to finish his job and we need that Dragon slayer."

"You," Lucy asked her heart freezing as her eyes widened with horror "You're targeting Natsu?!"

The woman merely smiled and Erza's sword slowly dropped till the point was resting on the ground, her own gaze shocked "This whole thing," she murmured softly "was a set up, a distraction set up so you could fulfill your ultimate purpose."

"Precisely," the silver headed female purred "we couldn't care less about any of you, we just wanted the salamander."

"But…WHY?!"

The woman sighed, casting a look of disgusted pity over to the celestial mage "I don't question the master, all I know is that he specifically wanted the fire dragon slayer, and that I have been promised a reward for my efforts in aiding in his capture."

"But for what purpose?" Erza asked her voice a quiet purr of fury.

The woman shrugged "I reiterate, I don't know, and what I do know I'm certainly not telling you. Now that we've had this lovely chat, I really must be going, _**Secure**_!"

The female mage threw a handful of seeds towards the group, and the team cried out in dismay when the items hit the ground and began to sprout into thick thorny vines, crawling up their bodies and entrapping them.

The woman gave a satisfied giggle before disappearing her voice ringing out among the trees "Ta-ta for now, Fairy Tail!"

Lucy struggled to reach her keys, but her hands were fastened to her sides restricting any movement. Gray suffered a similar difficulty, unable to use his ice make magic, and Erza hissed with pain when one of the thorns pricked her skin causing her eyes to flutter closed as the plant's poison rendered her unconscious.

Gray cried out as a thorn punctured his shoulder "Lucy," he slurred as he fought sleep "…we…need…guild…tell them…"

"No!" Lucy shouted over her friends before she saw one such sharp thorn beginning its descent down to her skin "Happy, get help! GO!"

The blue cat nodded his head, dodging out of the way of vines, before taking off at full speed towards the guild, his eyes filling with tears over his fear for Natsu and the grief of leaving his friends in a dangerous situation.

…..

The woman skipped into the clearing, her face brightening with glee as she saw her partner standing over the bound frame of the salamander "So, you had to use my spell to defeat him after all?" she asked with a smug smile.

Declan merely nodded, a smirk twitching the side of his mouth "Yeah, he wasn't able to put up much of a fight all bound up."

The female mage stepped over to the two her smile turning suspicious "Although," she purred turning narrow lavender eyes to the man "there was an awful lot of screaming for someone who didn't put up a fight."

"The potion we used on him last night kicked in, the metamorphosis has begun," Declan shrugged "besides Minora, how I choose to capture our target shouldn't concern you, as long as we have him, that's all that should matter."

Minora pursed her lips "And nothing else happened here, you bound him, and the potion caused him to fall unconscious?"

"The change is painful, that's why he screamed," Declan sneered "nothing else happened."

Minora sighed, her gut churning with suspicious distrust towards the man, and she felt keenly that he was lying to her but about what she wasn't sure "If you say so," she finally muttered turning to walk away "let's return to our hideout, I'm sure the master has another letter detailing his instructions for what we are supposed to do next waiting for us."

Declan merely smirked as he stooped down and scooped the unconscious Dragon slayer under one arm _'Little does she know,'_ he thought smugly _'that this was only the beginning to the true purpose behind our plans, I just have to pour more of my magic into him, and he will be under my complete control.'_

**And it just continues to get curiouser and curiouser **

**REVIEW please!**


	6. Answers lead to more Questions

**So, things are getting pretty difficult for our favorite mages. Let's see what happens next!**

The guild was in full swing back in Magnolia.

Cana had challenged yet another person to a drinking contest, Gajeel was at his usual table eating scraps of iron while Levy read to him various parts of a book that she was currently using for research and Lily was drinking a large bowl of milk. Master Makarov was alternating between drinking and yelling at his guild, while Wendy was pouting in a corner with Carla over a spell she had yet to master that was giving her some trouble.

The whole entire main area of the guild was a cacophony of voices, clinking glasses and plates, as well as a good deal of rushing about as the various mages came in from, left for, or agonized over missions. It was in the middle of all this chaos that the front door burst open, causing the entire room to fall silent as a blue cat flew through the open portal, tears streaming down his furry cheeks.

"NATSU'S IN TROUBLE!"

"What happened?!" Makarov bellowed his face tight with fear as he leapt to his feet.

"We were on our mission, when these two mages showed up," the blue cat explained "one of them disappeared with Natsu into the forest and the other stayed to fight Erza, Gray, and Lucy."

"Hmph," Laxus scoffed "what's the problem then? It sounds like something they could handle."

"That's just it," Happy moaned shaking his head "after Natsu ran into the woods, we heard him scream, like he was in a lot of pain…I've never heard him scream like that."

Mira Jane gave a small shocked gasp "Is he ok?" she asked urgently.

Happy landed on the bar, his wings disappearing, and his feline features heavy with fatigue "I don't know," he sighed "Erza, Gray, and Lucy were taken down before we could find him."

Gajeel's jaw fell open, scrap metal falling onto his plate with loud clangs, and Wendy's hands flew to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears "They…what?!" the Iron dragon slayer demanded in a soft growl.

"The second mage, a woman, she used these weird seeds to trap them, and the thorns did something to them, they fell unconscious," the cat wailed "We need to get to them NOW!"

Gajeel exchanged a look with Levy before standing up "We're coming with you,"

"And me!" Wendy cried raising her hand.

"Guys," Happy murmured his eyes bright with joy and tearful with relief "thank you!"

"Gihihi!" Gajeel chuckled "Come on runt, let's go rescue flame brain and the bunny girl."

Levy gave a nod "Agreed, though I have to admit I'm surprised that even Erza and Gray were beaten too, that's just too weird."

"No kidding," Panther Lily grunted "anything that can take them out is definitely a force to be reckoned with,"

"Well standing around here talking isn't going to solve anything," Carla sniffed.

"Yes, let's go!" Wendy cheered.

Without another word the group left the guild, their faces grim and set with looks of determination as they began their journey to help their friends and most important of all to rescue their Salamander.

….

Natsu slowly became conscious, his breath coming out as a thin whine of pain as his vision sluggishly came into focus, and the young man drug his arms across the cold stone floor in an attempt to push himself up into a sitting position. His onyx eyes perused the area where he was being held and noticed that his wrists were encased with enchanted irons, and were attached to the wall by long chains. He was located in a dark stone cellar, with only one small window allowing a small amount of light to enter in, and a narrow stairway lead up to a wooden door that was located a good seven feet off the ground.

"Nggh," he groaned softly as he picked himself off the floor, frowning at how much his arms were shaking "Whe-where am I?"

"You're where your friends cannot find you,"

Natsu whirled around at the voice, his head wobbling slightly as dizziness slapped him from the rushed motion "Who…YOU?!"

Declan emerged from the shadows, a grin lighting his features "Nice to see you again, little salamander."

"Why am I here?" Natsu snarled baring his sharp teeth "Why did you capture me?"

The man chuckled "Ah, poor Dragon slayer, so used to being the one who is the strongest in a battle, never the person who is rendered helpless and alone with no way to fight or escape."

Natsu grit his teeth, making them creak from the force, his face a tight snarl "Brave words from a man who has a death wish."

Declan merely smirked "Like a cornered animal you bare your teeth, but you have yet to comprehend just how truly doomed you are."

"HA!" The dragon slayer barked "I'm not the one who should be thinking about my death, _you're_ the one who kidnapped a Fairy Tail mage, my guild will come find me and when they do…you'll find out just what doom really means."

The enemy mage rolled his eyes before sneering at his captive "Assuming they get here in time,"

Natsu's brow furrowed in worried concern, his eyes narrowing with fiery suspicion "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is I have a very special plan for you, one that doesn't include your guild," Declan stated slowly.

"What kind of plan?"

The fire mage merely snickered "Like I'm telling you, at least not for right now anyway."

Natsu released a frustrated snarl laced with anger "TELL ME WHAT I'M DOING HERE!" he bellowed slamming his fist into the stone floor.

"**Restrain**!"

The chains binding Natsu gave a mighty tug, pulling him flat against the wall and growing around him like metal vines until he was completely encapsulated by the steel, his frame nothing more than a writhing mass within the cocoon "Wha-!" the dragon slayer gasped "What did you do to me?"

"Just a Restraining spell that my partner developed to keep you under control," Declan practically purred as he knelt in front of the growling Fairy Tail mage "you see she doesn't have very much magic of her own, and she's pretty useless all on her lonesome."

Natsu merely stayed silent, his mind reeling on the question of just how many people were involved and their motives for taking him, but the fire mage kept on rambling "Actually, she can't even make a simple attack with her magic, because the power level is so weak!" he cackled.

"In fact," Declan continued "the only ability she has to call her own that is even slightly useful, is that while she's not a very strong offensive fighter, she is a master at forging magical items as well as potions. She has a special kind of genius at bending magic to her specific will, crafting items that work as strong as any S-class mage signature attack. Strange isn't it? She hates it about herself, she wants real magic that she can use to become the strongest and stop her reliance on toys and magical brick-a-brack."

The dragon slayer bared his teeth at the man, hatred burning from his every pore "But what does that have to do with why I'm here?"

Declan's eyes widened comically and he slapped a hand over his mouth with mock guilt "Oops, it appears I've said too much, sorry little Salamander, but that's all you get for today."

"Stop messing with my head," Natsu growled menacingly "what is your reasoning behind kidnapping me and holding me hostage?"

"Hmm, wouldn't you like to know?" Declan hummed smugly before reaching forward and tapping the mage's nose with an index finger "Now why don't you be a good boy, and lie down?"

"No," was the steady rebellious reply.

The fire mage snarled with anger, grabbing Natsu by his pink hair and pulling it up viciously, a devilish smirk lighting his features when he heard the hiss of pain come from the teen "I said," he whispered before bellowing into Natsu's ear "DOWN!"

The man's hand began to glow as he once again began to push his power into Natsu, causing the dragon slayer to writhe and buck, his mouth wide as tortured screams poured from his mouth. But the metal encasing him proved more than a match for the boy's thrashing, as it endured the movement, keeping him locked in place.

The screams continued for well over ten minutes, Declan hovering over Natsu his hand burning with yellow light, magic pulsating from the limb and into the young mage's body; until finally the salamander could bear it no more and he slumped into the depths of unconsciousness. Declan sat back, his face bright with the grin of triumph at yet another successful injection of his powers into his captive.

"Just a few more doses," he murmured softly to himself "just a little more time that I will be forced to wait until I get what I want."

….

"THERE THEY ARE!"

Lucy moaned, she could feel the effects of the poison wearing off and the voices of her friends were coming through as if they were screaming under water. She struggled to move within the foliage that was holding her in its grip, but she felt more thorns prick against her, their sharp points threatening to break the skin immediately forcing her to stop her movement. The celestial mage opened her mouth, attempting a cry for help, but the girl could only manage a dull croak from her dry throat.

"Quick, Gajeel," a voice sounding much like Levy cried outside the vines "you get to work on freeing Gray, I'll take care of Erza, and Wendy you take Lucy!"

"Right!" was the echoing cry.

Lucy's lips twitched as a faint smile brightened her features, and closed her eyes with a sigh of relief, waiting for her nakama to rescue her.

"Wing slash of the Wind Dragon!"

Suddenly the vines fell away, each one sliced to ribbons, and the girl fell to her knees a moan of as stiff muscles loosened slipped from her lips. The small wind dragon slayer immediately tackled the young woman, her brown eyes filling with tears as she sobbed into Lucy's shirt.

"You're ok!"

Lucy gave her a warm smile, wrapping her arms tightly around the girl "Wendy, thank God you're here."

"We came as soon as we heard," Levy called as she created the word **Pruning Shears** in the air, resulting in them popping and dropping a sharp pair of shears into her hands with which she began chopping away at the vines surrounding Erza.

Gajeel merely turned his whole upper arm into a sword, and with a few clean swipes, he sliced through the vines, freeing Gray to fall to the ground with a resounding thud and a grunt of pain.

"Whoa…" the ice mage groaned "my head feels like I got hit by Master and Erza…at the same time."

"It's probably the toxins left over from the venom of the plants," Wendy sniffled rubbing away her tears and scrambling over to Gray "how does it feel?"

"I feel how Natsu looks when he's on a train," Gray grumbled before he suddenly winced and silence fell on the group.

"Do-" Lucy began, her voice quiet but her chocolate brown eyes were cast down "do you know…where Natsu is?"

The trio exchanged looks of guilt before Levy gave a sigh, pausing in her furious chopping "I'm sorry Lucy, but we don't know where he is."

The celestial mage turned to the blue cat, unshed tears glistening in the corners of her eyes "Happy?"

The exceed sniffed, his own eyes becoming wet with tears "I'm sorry Lucy, I didn't see him when I flew over the forest."

"Don't worry Lucy," Gray said lowly placing a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder "we will find him."

Lucy took a few deep breaths, before casting determined brown eyes on her friends "You're right, we _will_ find him, and then we'll make those jerks pay for messing with Fairy Tail!"

**So this was the latest chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!**

**REVIEW!**


	7. Cry for help

**Ok guys, I didn't get a chance to write this till now because, well….I DISLOCATED my KNEE.**

**So I'm back! Sorry for the wait for the latest Internal Struggle, and I apologize if it's a tad short! So let's get into the story!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that pertains to Fairy Tail, or its characters.**

Minora walked into the house, noting Declan stretched out on the couch reading the latest Sorcerer magazine "Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

"Nope," the man replied "all is quiet, the change began again a while back and I had to use your restrain spell to avoid him injuring himself, other than that though it's been kind of boring."

Minora furrowed her eyebrows, sensing something underlying his words that caused mistrust to churn in her stomach "I see, is there any mail?"

Declan shook his head, his focus still on the magazine "I haven't checked, thought I would when you got back."

Any suspicion the girl felt towards her partner dissipated as pleasure coursed through her veins over the fact that he knew how much she truly enjoyed being the one who checked the mail. Not for the mail itself, but for what may lay inside, instructions from their master. She loved being the one to open their mailbox and peer inside, being the one to discover a letter from the person who was the mastermind of their endeavor, it was one thing she went to great lengths protecting, ensuring that she got the job of checking their mail. Practically skipping out to their mailbox, the girl released a squeal of joy when she found the familiar manila envelope, bearing the wax seal of the man who commanded them. Hugging it tightly to her chest, the girl ran back into the house, thrusting it out towards Declan.

"Look!" She gushed "Master sent us more instructions!"

Declan merely smirked, giving her the same gaze one would use when humoring a child "I see that, how wonderful."

Minora simply beamed at the envelope, memorizing every line and detail, running her fingers over the wax seal, only to be rousted from her reverie by her partner in crime.

"Ahem," Declan coughed "so are you going to open it? Or just stare at it?"

"I'M GONNA READ IT!" the girl snarled at her partner before opening the envelope with a huff.

_**My dear Minora,**_

_**I have already heard that you succeeded in your first task at acquiring the fire dragon slayer. Well done, I am proud of you and the progress you have made.**_

_**Now begins the next task, the potion that you created with your unique gifts in forging magical items has already begun its work in the Salamander's body. The changes should begin quickly, and our dreams will be fulfilled.**_

_**Watch over the boy, trust Declan, and I promise that your deepest wish will be given to you.**_

_**Yours truly,**_

_**M.**_

Minora gave a wide smile to Declan, gently handing him the letter "The master is pleased with our work; we have been given the ok to start the next phase of the plan."

Declan looked over the letter quickly before handing it back "We have already given the kid the potion, and we've seen the affects, so what do we do now?"

"I guess we just monitor the changes," the young woman shrugged "and then once it's complete we'll receive a letter detailing master's instructions for what we're supposed to do next."

The man nodded his head, giving a small smile to his partner "Trust me, it's going well, we should see some visible differences within the next few hours."

…..

Lucy sighed, Erza had finally been freed, and now they were all hiking through the woods looking for clues as to Natsu's whereabouts. Her calves hurt, and her feet ached, but the blonde didn't want to stop looking in the hopes of finding her partner faster. Jerking her chin up, and straightening her shoulders, the celestial mage grit her teeth against the pain radiating in her muscles, and instead focused forward. There would be plenty of time to nurse bruises and blisters later, but for now they needed to find their Salamander.

"NATSU!" Happy screamed, his eyes wide with panic as tears threatened to spill over onto the blue fur "Natsu! Where are you?!"

"He's not here," Erza sighed, "the best we can do is look for traces that might lead us to him."

Grey nodded his head, his lips pursing in careful contemplation "His scream was close, but not close enough to be in this area," the ice mage called "let's try a little further up!"

"Right!" Gajeel and Levy shouted, already darting forward, their keen eyes missing not even the smallest detail.

Carla, Lilly, and Happy flew overhead, their heads darting to and fro as they searched until suddenly the black cat pointed his finger with a bellowed "OVER THERE!"

The group surged as one towards the spot, breaking through the trees into another smaller meadow, only to finds evidence of a fight, Erza knelt to the ground, running her fingers through a long drag mark. "They were here," she intoned solemnly.

Lucy's head swung back and forth so fast, Grey was worried she would give herself a severe case of whiplash, before finally the chocolate brown eyes widened as she sprinted forward with a scream "Natsu!"

She saw a log laying on the ground, with one end of a familiar scarf flung across it, and her heart threatened to beat out of her chest as her hopes shot for the stars that she might find her friend and partner. Falling to her knees, the girl hit the ground hard enough to cause her legs to bleed, but she didn't feel the scratches nor did the girl even notice them, so intent was she on finding the salamander. However disappointment broke her heart and shattered it into a million jagged shards, each one piercing her soul with a renewed agony only found in loss. For the scarf she was so exultant to find was not attached to Natsu, but merely left on the ground, abandoned by its master.

Lucy scooped up the scarf in trembling hands, her tears coming in an overwhelming flood, streaming past her cheeks and dripping onto her blouse "N-Natsu," the blonde wept as she hugged the article of clothing like it was a lifeline "N-N-Natsu…what happened to you?"

The team pulled up short of the scene, each one casting their eyes to the ground as grief swept through their very souls, and once again the same question resonated with each of them; _where was their salamander_?

…..

Natsu gasped for air where he lay in the cellar that his captors had deposited him in.

His body felt incredibly hot, and his muscles ached, which was certainly a new experience for the Dragon Slayer. He had never felt discomfort when it came to heat, but now the boy actually found himself wishing for something that would cool him down and end his torture. His breath was coming in short labored gasps, accented by the slight wheeze at the end of each exhale, and Natsu shuddered as a wave of agony rippled through his frame.

Sweat dripped down off a strand of hair, plopping onto the smooth skin of his cheek, and sliding down to his jaw, and the teen could only squirm as horrible nausea laced with the spiked edge of whatever was slicing his stomach into ribbons caused him to once again curl into the fetal position a small whimper echoing into the cellar.

He had been released from the Restrain spell, and now he had some relative freedom to stretch his arms and legs, not that he could at the moment though. No, the mysterious pain that had laid him low on the train and back at Lucy's apartment had returned full force, making the boy choke and cough as he struggled to bring air into his suffering lungs.

His vision blurred and swayed as he fought to raise his head from off the stone floor, but crashed back down with a pained whine when his suffering increased tenfold. His frame scrunched up even tighter, and the Dragon Slayer felt hot tears leak from his eyes as it reached unbearable heights. Sharp teeth biting his bottom lip, Natsu felt a choked sob rip from his throat, and he buried his face further into floor feeling the rough concrete scrape the skin of his nose.

He clenched his eyes shut, doing battle with the urge to cry at his current situation, but be it said that Natsu Dragneel was not a crier. However he seemed to be losing that battle in spectacular fashion, because despite his best efforts, the tears were coming accompanied by heart wrenching sobs that jerked his body in convulsing waves.

He wanted to know where his friends were, he wanted them to find him and rescue him, but most of all he wanted this strange agony that felt like it was twisting his insides with a fork to stop. Natsu had no idea what was going on, he knew he had been ill since the day before, and that it had worsened on the train, but he had hoped it was just a weird case of food poisoning. But with his captor Declan telling him that he was necessary for some plan, that they had done something to him, and after all that was pouring some strange magic into his body that almost hurt worse than he did now, Natsu was officially done.

The Dragon Slayer wasn't one for seeking comfort from others, despite his goofy nature the teen was pretty much a loner when it came to him feeling pain, but at this point he was more than ready to get busted out of there so he could find the closest blanket and smother away the agony. Natsu sighed dreamily, though his face was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, a nice blanket, Lucy's bed, a roaring fire in the fireplace and the softest pillow; that's what he wanted right now. Another stab of pain quickly erased that daydream, causing the fire mage to give a low moan, and the chains rattled as another fierce wave of trembling set his limbs in motion.

"Guys," Natsu gasped "get here quick, I need you."

…

Wendy and Gajeel straightened up, their faces solemn as they exchanged looks of fear and concern "Did you feel that?"

The group paused, turning to face the Dragon Slayers at the question said in unison and Erza stepped up "Feel what?"

Iron and Air faced their guild mates before each doing their own shrug "Sometimes we feel things," Wendy replied shyly "especially about other Dragon Slayers."

"Is it Natsu?!" Lucy yelled, now wearing the Dragon scale scarf, before rushing forward to fall on the ground and grab the small girl's hands "Was it?!"

Wendy sighed, opening her mouth and closing it as if she couldn't find the words, before casting a longing glance at Gajeel making the young man sigh "We think so," he growled.

"Then what did you…feel?" Grey asked his voice uneasy and hesitant.

Gajeel paused, giving a heavy swallow before answering the Ice mage's question "Nothing good."

Wendy felt tears press into the corners of her eyes, and she cast her dark gaze up to Lucy "Natsu's in trouble," she wept quietly "I don't know what's going on, but he's in a lot of pain."

Grey, Erza, and Lucy drew in hissed breaths of horror and the celestial mage bit her lips as she desperately tried to quell the cries that were crawling up her throat "Is there any way we can find him?" she asked quietly.

"Maybe," Levy chewed on her thumb's knuckle before finishing her sentence "Natsu's scarf has absorbed a lot of his magic energy, if we can get it back to the guild, I can find a book containing a locator spell that will use the scarf to pinpoint his exact location."

The team looked at each other, each of their faces mirroring the same question, but finding it didn't even need to be asked. Each giving a firm nod, they set their backs to the setting sun, and looked towards their Guild Hall.


	8. Let the Games Begin

**So I am still stuck in my leg cast, however I am starting physical therapy in about three weeks, which makes me extremely happy.**

**Warning: This chapter will get a tad gory, because we will see what Declan and Minora have planned for Natsu. So if you are squeamish, skip over it or just don't read the chapter.**

Natsu hunched over, his legs curling into himself as he twisted into the fetal position, and a tormented whimper crept between his lips.

The pain had somehow grown impossibly worse, and the Dragon slayer had long abandoned all pretenses of not feeling any of it. Natsu hated himself for it too, despised the fact that he could no longer even manage a weak façade at well being, but now was only capable of pathetic mewling as each new wave of agony stole his breath and caused him to scrunch further into an even tighter ball in an attempt to ward off the hurt spearing through him. A sharp spike shot up his spine, causing the pinkette's back to arch and a hiss broke the silence of the basement, tears dripped down his face as another bolt slashed through his skull causing muscular hands to cradle his head. The torture continued to build to incomprehensible levels, and Natsu writhed on the floor, his movements accompanied by the sound of screaming that the Dragon Slayer eventually realized was his own.

The sound of the cellar door opening caused Natsu to squint up at the only exit from his own personal torment, only to see Declan and Minora creeping down the stairs "He appears to be right on the brink," Declan murmured smugly.

"How long do we have to wait until his transformation is complete?" Minora whispered softly, her eyes gleaming with excitement and bloodlust.

"Not long," Declan shook his head gently "in fact I would say it is the perfect time to transport him to the site so he doesn't destroy our hideout."

"Agreed,"

The two descended on the squirming form of the salmon haired youth, but not before Minora once again cast the Restrain spell on him. Natsu groaned miserably as he was carried up the stairs, and out of the house into a field not far behind the dwelling, only to be secured down to the ground by even yet more enchanted chains created for the sole purpose of confining him. A metal collar bit into his neck with chains attached on either side, while the cuffs surrounding his wrists were firmly pounded into the ground with stakes.

"_**Release**_," Minora declared with a sharp wave of her hand.

Declan quickly walked around Natsu, spilling sparkling white sand in a wide circle while whispering a mystic cant before connecting the two ends resulting in a loud boom of thunder and a shimmering blue force field rose in a graceful arc and forming a shimmering bubble. The Dragon Slayer lay on the grass, his chest heaving in labored gasps, and a rope of dread began to knot up in his stomach, twisting it in nauseating crimps and bunches.

"Wha-What," he rasped "what are y-you doing…to me?"

Declan merely smirked before turning to Minora "Think we should tell him?"

"I don't think it should prove to be a problem," the woman shrugged "in the next few hours he won't even remember he was ever human."

Natsu felt his eyes shoot wide and he whirled his head around to face Declan, the question unspoken on his lips, but raging in his eyes about what she meant and Declan could only chuckle.

"We snuck a special potion into your system a couple days ago, I'm sure you remember waking up that morning feeling sick," at Natsu's nod, the man continued his explanation "basically the plan is to bring out the Dragon magic residing within you, and change you into a dragon erasing all that makes you human and use you for our own devices to conquer all of Fiore."

"WHAT?!" The Dragon slayer felt his heart break even as anger surged through his veins "That's insane!"

"Maybe," the man shrugged "but once we have Fiore in our hands, the question concerning my mental stability won't matter much."

"Don't forget my part of the plan," Minora pouted "what I was promised."

"Of course my dear," Declan smiled gently "after Fiore is bowing at our feet, you get to have the dragon's heart in order to gain natural magic, the kind that doesn't require magical items."

Fear clenched that very organ within Natsu, and the boy shrunk away from his captors, the labored breaths speeding up as panic took over "Wh-Why?!" he wheezed.

"Because we desire power," Minora sneered "and if I can get power by sacrificing the life of a mage who uses magic that isn't even needed anymore, then so be it!"

Natsu opened his mouth to shoot back a retort but a bolt of lightning sliced through his body, causing it to tense up as his back arched and a scream shook the surrounding area. The Dragon slayer fell back into the grass, panting as the uncomfortable heat returned and he barely suppressed a groan as his eyes drifted closed. Declan turned to Minora, a smirk quirking one side of his mouth.

"You might want to leave because once this gets started, it's going to get bloody."

Minora's features turned a slight shade of green before she faced her partner and slapped a leather collar into his hand "This will ensure his obedience, just make sure you attach it before he gets too big and is capable of killing you."

"Of course,"

With that the female left the two mages in the field, wandering back to the hideout they had shared, and Natsu loosed a snarl at his abductor "How can you do this, don't you even have the smallest shred of decency?"

"Maybe not according to you," Declan shrugged "but I've waited too long and worked too hard not to get what I want, and whether you like it or not, our plan is well on its way to success."

Natsu writhed and bucked, new agony tearing him apart from the inside, and the Dragon slayer released another tortured scream.

Spikes stabbed at his skull, and the boy thrashed his head from side to side, his pained cries growing in volume. Declan merely sat on a nearby tree stump, one hand cupping his mouth as he yelled "Don't fight against it Dragon slayer, it's going to happen one way or another, might as well not make worse for yourself."

Natsu sent a savage snarl at the man, but it was quickly cut off in a yelp.

He could feel his insides boiling with unrestrained magical energy, and his bones were melting into hot wax shifting to form something completely different. Natsu clenched his teeth, choking on his own air, his chest and spine burning like they were dipped in magma. Rolling onto his side, the youth growled deep in his throat as his back muscles began to ache and it felt like a knife sliced into his head.

Something was growing there, Natsu wasn't sure what it was, but he could feel two points on his skull beginning to grow hot, searing the skin and punching him hard with vertigo. Digging his forehead into the cool dirt, the Fire mage grit his teeth, struggling to swallow the sobbing wail that wanted to wrench itself from his jaws. Hot trails of burning liquid that Natsu vaguely identified as blood trickled down his face, and the boy howled when twin shards of bone split his skin and formed horns framing his skull. Natsu picked himself up till he was on his knees and lifted his head, only to slam it back down into the grass, trying in a twisted effort to drive away the misery, but unfortunately it had only begun.

Hunched over in a trembling ball, Natsu whimpered softly when he felt the muscles in his back begin to roil and shift, and his shoulders tensed as he braced himself for what was coming. Bones that had not existed before grew, extending from his shoulder blades, causing a grotesque bulge under his skin making Natsu convulse, his back straightening as he stretched up pulling at his chains testing their limits as choked sobs were caught behind a clenched jaw and teeth that were bared at the sky. Falling to the ground and rolling onto his stomach as far as he was able despite being hampered by his bonds, the youth felt the anomalies continue to grow until two leathery wings stained crimson ripped themselves from his back spraying blood and bits of muscle all across the field. Natsu dug his nails, which were quickly shifting into claws, into the ground as he shrieked into the grass.

Slowly his consciousness began to slip, and the sounds of his screaming along with all other sound faded away almost as if he had dove underwater, and darkness ate away at the edges of his vision. Natsu was barely able to comprehend his spine lengthening and the rip his pants gave when a tail grew and began to lash furiously at the air behind him, and his eyes grew dull as he slipped into a semi catatonic state. Shock overtook his limbs, and suddenly he felt as though he was doused in ice water as he quivered, his body shaking with not only the trembling settling into his frame but also the force of the uncontrollable weeping that sent tears scorching down his cheeks.

And as he watched Declan loom overhead with the leather collar in hand, Natsu could only close his eyes, sharp teeth biting his bottom lip, and send a prayer to the heavens _"Please,"_ he gasped his face twisted from the raw emotion tearing its way from his heart _"someone…anyone…FIND ME!"_

…

Levy pursed her lips in careful thought, one hand idly swatting Gajeel away as he hovered over her shoulder. Honestly, she was flattered that a muscle head like the Iron mage was so fascinated with her brand of magic, but having someone buzz around you while you were trying to concentrate was the thing she found least motivating. Right now she was using her Gale Force reading glasses, eyewear that allowed its user to read like the wind and devour entire books in scant minutes, to scrounge her personal library for any information concerning a certain locator spell.

Giving a frustrated growl, the small blue haired girl faced the object of her irritation and pointed in the direction of the doors "Gajeel, I need you to go find Lucy and tell her to go to Magnolia's public library researching any and all spells allocated to tracking magical signatures and pinpointing their locations!"

"Right!"

Levy watched the muscular man leave with a fond smile, and shook her head gently. To anyone else Gajeel was rude, brusque, and more than usually obnoxious. His metal studded features accompanied by his hulking frame only added to the intimidating persona, granting him the reputation of the 'scary guy' of the guild. But to her, he was tender and sweet, gentle to the point of almost annoyance. If she so much as stubbed her toe he was there threatening death to the offending table leg. Levy fought back a giggle at the image, but quickly composed herself as she grabbed another book and flipped through it, the magical glasses allowing her to read the lengthy tome with perfect clarity in under five seconds. She needed to find Natsu, that was their priority right now, and she couldn't allow any distractions, no matter how cute and misunderstood they might be, get in the way of that goal.

Giving an endearing pout, the girl ran down the hall of books, her keen eyes watching the labeled signs declaring the section and category of each bookcase, before skidding to a stop. Brain whirling with the knowledge one can only gain by having intimate knowledge of every shelf, Levy remembered one particular book that she had forgotten about but had read years before.

Grabbing a ladder, she built up momentum and jumped onto the first step, riding it to her desired destination, and sliding to a stop right at the perfect spot. Reaching up, the bluenette braced her arms on the rungs of the ladder, leaning her head on the smooth wood as she flipped through the book, heart thundering in her chest as brown eyes widened in delighted surprise. Sliding down the ladder and landing on the floor with a loud clomp, the girl ran out the door of her library, waving the book in her right hand, a cry of triumph echoing down the halls of the guild.

"I found it, I know how to find Natsu!"

**So how was that my pretties? Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and let me know what you think!**

**Now…REVIEW!**


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